Nick Mautone, who is also the author of Raising the Bar: Better Drinks, Better Entertaining, shares his recipe for the perfect mimosa at home, in honor of the the new brunch at Racanelli's New York Italian.

Ingredients

Very cold champagne

8 ounces freshly squeezed orange juice (one or two oranges)

4 ounces Cointreau

Star anise for garnish

Instructions

Place the champagne in freezer to chill down thoroughly before opening. (The colder the sparkling wine the crisper and more vibrant the cocktail will be!) Also, chill the glasses in the freezer prior to serving.

Freshly squeeze the juice of one or two oranges into a cocktail shaker you should get about 8 ounces of juice. Add 4 ounces of Cointreau. Using a high quality cordial will add more depth and complexity.

Add ice to shaker and shake vigorously. The juice/Cointreau should be very cold. After shaking the juice mix will be frothy and have a very “happy” texture that will enhance the bubbles of the champagne instead of making it flat. Strain evenly into 4 glasses.

Fill glasses with champagne. Float a star anise pod on top. The star anise adds a decadent scent and goes well with orange.

About Author

Liz Johnson is content strategist for The Journal News and lohud.com, and the founding editor of lohudfood, formerly know as Small Bites. As food editor, she won awards from the New York News Publishers Association, the Association of Food Journalists and the Associated Press. She lives in Nyack with her husband and daughter on a tiny suburban lot they call their farm — with fruit trees, an herb garden, and a yardful of lettuce, tomatoes, onions, shallots, cucumbers, zucchini, radishes, cabbage, peppers, Brussels sprouts and carrots and four big blueberry bushes.